As war intensifies in the Middle East, high-level talks between Russia and the United States have begun. An envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kirill Dmitriev, described the meeting with American negotiators as “productive.” This is the first direct dialogue between Moscow and Washington since the Iran war began.
The discussion took place in Florida and reportedly included the global envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, along with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and senior White House adviser Josh Gruenbaum.
Dmitriev thanked them through a post on the social media platform X, saying the meeting had been positive.
He wrote, “Thank you Steve, Jared, and Josh for the meeting — the discussions were very productive.”
Earlier, Witkoff also stated that the teams had discussed several issues and agreed to maintain contact in the coming days.
Earlier this week, President Trump had a telephone conversation with President Putin. After the call, Trump said Putin appeared willing to be a “partner” in addressing issues related to the war in the Middle East.
The meeting in Florida came shortly after the United States decided to remove some sanctions imposed on Russian oil a few days earlier. Washington had originally imposed those sanctions after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The decision comes at a time when global energy markets are becoming unstable due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Following the meeting, Dmitriev commented that Washington has begun to better understand the importance of Russian oil. According to him, both sides also discussed the possibility of improving bilateral relations and exploring projects that could help resolve the crisis in the global energy market.
Writing on Telegram, he added that many countries are now recognizing the crucial role Russian oil and gas play in stabilizing the global economy. He also noted that the understanding that sanctions imposed on Russia are ineffective and causing negative consequences is gradually increasing.
